Shadow Dancing
by Syrenia
Summary: An enraged, humiliated heroine and a very pleased Evil King: What has Stan done now? Pairings, disclaimers, ect, inside.


Title: Shadow Dancing  
Subject: Okage: Shadow King  
Categories: Drama/Angst/Romance  
Subcategory: Songfic/Shortfic

Rating: PG13 (For slight suggestive themes, and very mild language.)

Song: Andy Gibb - Shadow Dancing

Summary: Rosalyn+Stan Romance/Angst, mild Ari+Marlene Romance.

(Tidbit: Originally, I was going to do this to another song, but when it came time to title it, the name popped up in my head. I knew it was a song so, since I wasn't sure what it was like, and I was curious, I looked up the lyrics. After that, everything just clicked, so I changed the song.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Okage: Shadow King/Boku to Maoh or any of its characters, nor do I own the rights to the song "Shadow Dancing." Both are copyright their respectable owners and/or creators. Thank you.

Ps - Lyrics are in _italics_.

* * *

"You creep!" Those words, shouted at the top of Rosalyn's lungs, were all that could be heard in a hotel in Madril, the gear city. The heroine, with her short, dirty blonde hair and golden eyes; she looked especially agitated tonight. The belt buckle look over her head was all out of place, her clothes were disheveled, and her anger was fired up like sun. "I hate you, Stanley Hihat Trinidad the fourteenth!" She drug along the umbrella she couldn't even carry upright across the floor, chasing out a rather pleased and amused-looking Stan as he fixed his equally ruffled clothing.

He was snickering to himself as he narrowly escaped the Great Hero's fury, for which she was well-known. The Great Evil King was, even while alone, basking in the accomplishment he'd met that night, finding out that pork chop of a woman was truly a fool. What would possess a hero to believe an Evil King would allow himself an attraction to her? She must've been mad! Ironically, if she wasn't insane, she was still furious at the treachery she seemed to be shocked by.

_ You got me looking at that heaven in your eyes  
I was chasing your direction  
I was telling you no lies  
And I was loving you  
When the words are said, baby, I lose my head_

What a foolish human, that hero, believing anything a malevolent being such as himself would say. He didn't need love; he was a demon! Love was merely a fanciful masquerade as far as Stan was concerned, deeming it worthless and amusing. At best, this strange emotion served only to give him this moment of glory, the result of which was a chaotic, upset Rosalyn. He could even hear her rampaging about the hotel now, out of the giant gear doors at the lower level of Madril!

And as for physical attraction; it wasn't an emotional attachment in any case from Stan's point of view. It only served to breed and deceive, breeding only done to continue his lineage and deception only carried out for moments like these. It was pure magic - black, it may be - to see Rosalyn falling right into his grasp and then being awoken to reality. He didn't care for her nor her little pink shadow, the mark of his presence once so many years ago, stiffed up in a cramped shadow...

_And in a world of people, there's only you and I  
There ain't nothing come between us in the end  
How can I hold you when you ain't even mine?  
Only you can see me through  
I leave it up to you_

Back in Madril, where the hotel manager was hiding behind his desk, Rosalyn was throwing anything she could grab in any given direction. How could she have come to this; being seduced by an Evil King? This was a nightmare! If anyone at the Hero's Club found out about this she'd be not only the laughing stock of the whole lot, but no doubt an ex-hero! But, right now, not even that mattered as much as the emotional game that demon had just put her through.

It started out so simple; Stan was fighting with her and she was retaliating as usual. Nothing seemed amiss until he turned the tables, pushing her back to the wall with one of his devilish sneers. Even now, the memory of that look gave Rosalyn shivers up and down her spine, both wonderfully good and terribly, terribly bad. Stan had never peered down at her with such eyes before, her heart helpless to surrender to the unusual attraction she felt to him.

How she could ever be attracted to a demon, much less the Great Evil King, was beyond her, but she knew him so well. Those travels together, when they had no choice, had given them both time to understand one another, Stan obviously coming out empty-handed. Or, as it suddenly occurred to her, he never felt anything between them at all. This whole fiasco was his doing from the start!

_ Do it light, taking me through the night  
Shadow dancing, baby, you do it right  
Give me more, drag me across the floor  
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more_

Finally breaking down, Rosalyn began to cry, her worn-out heart broken from all these games. But not all of them were his fault, as she knew perfectly well, most of them stemming from her wishful thinking and naive mind. Trusting an evil being like that was not her style, nor would she allow it to ever happen again. Stan had only thrown himself at her to humiliate her, his arch nemesis, nothing more.

"For Pollack's sake, Rosalyn! Get a hold of yourself!" Her voice echoed through the empty hotel hall, unanswered. "Ohh... That damn jerk!" Pacing the halls, her boots fell heavy on the floor, her parasol lying against the wall. All the lights were dim, her shadow trailing along up and down the hall faithfully. "Why didn't I see him for what he was?" Talking to herself, she questioned so many things, most of the blame falling squarely at her feet.

She had better sense than to trust that demon in the first place, but those eyes and tempting lips had left all reason running with its tail between its legs. "I have to stop thinking like that!" Crying harder, Rosalyn fell to her knees, so heartbroken and alone for the first time in her life. "How could I ever have been so blind?" Her voice was in a whisper, "Why?" As she cried, the parasol caught her attention, her eyes resting on it as her hands fell slowly to the floor...

_ All that I need is just one moment in your arms  
I was chasing your affection  
I was doing you no harm  
And I was loving you  
Make it shine, make it rain, baby I know my way_

Tonight, the stars were brilliant, a shooting star soaring above the land as Ari watched with his love, the former princess, Marlene. "Oh, look, Ari! A shooting star!" Marlene had never seen such a thing, Ari smiling and telling her it was customary to wish on a shooting star, her eyes closing tight. Seconds after, her eyes opened, Ari speaking up to inquire what her wish had been about.

"Ari! Wishes don't come true if you tell," Marlene said, knowing how to wish at a well. Although curious, he let it go at that, looking back up to the skies, her gentle nudge once again deterring him from star-gazing. Smiling, she asked, "Aren't you going to make a wish?" At that moment, what could he possibly need? He had the love of his life at his side, his family was safe, he was no longer one of the Ignored and Annie, his sister, had grown popular from the pink shadow Stan had left her.

_ I need that sweet sensation of living in your love  
I can't breathe when you're away, it pulls me down  
You are the question and the answer am I  
Only you can see me through  
I leave it up to you_

Then, his mind turning to Stan, he wondered where his master was, thoughts of Rosalyn naturally following. Ari had known for a while now, just by seeing them together, that Rosalyn was hiding the feelings she felt for Stan. However, he knew Stan too well to deny that every sign pointed in the other direction, the Evil King's only concerns seeming to lie within his world conquest.

Eventually Rosalyn would find that Stan was simply not understanding of her feelings, nor the emotions she had entirely. How could he; he wasn't human. In the end, as these things do, Ari knew she would find herself with a broken heart. As to how, he didn't know, but knowing Stan it might be through his own selfish acts. Either way, she would be hurt, the Evil King once again becoming nothing more than her enemy. And so, with this in mind, he closed his eyes and wished with all his heart...

_ Do it light, taking me through the night  
Shadow dancing, baby, you do it right  
Give me more, drag me across the floor  
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more_

The parasol that stood against the wall remained unmoving, Rosalyn staring at it as if it were a predator about to pounce. How did she come this far, with her heart in her hands, lying broken to the floor, only to begin fitting in pieces from the wreckage? That same demon she cursed and hated had done something unexpected, as if to silently reconcile for her loss. He'd slipped a sliver of good into a night she had felt her worst, Rosalyn somehow loving that last act of kindness to the fullest.

A demon who was born and bred of evil had shown his heart in that simple act, his actions louder than any of his words. No matter how cold and cruel he had been, she couldn't help smiling now, in tears for the tattered heart she owned. He had no reason to give her this to benefit his own selfishness, the sight she had dared to survey a testimony to the truth she could now see.

_ And in this world of people there's only you and I  
There ain't nothing come between us in the end  
Ah, can I hold you when you ain't even mine?  
Only you can see me through  
I leave it up to you_

Even the Great Evil King, of all demons that walked this plane, could show flickering signs of compassion, her laughter, bitter-sweet, filling the hall. "Stan... Why'd you do it, Stan?" The lonely parasol against the wall sat as she stood from where she'd been on her knees. Looking to it, Rosalyn smiled slightly, wiping away her tears. "Stan," she whispered, walking forward.

As she went, she left the parasol, heading for the front door, the dawn breaking outside. For the first time since she couldn't remember when, she stepped out into the barely peeking sunlight, the hand which had so often held her parasol empty. It was the first sunrise she could watch without constant worry, her self-consciousness disappearing with the fading moon. And, as she shaded her eyes with her hand, her shadow followed suit, a dark grey shade through and through...

_ Do it light, taking me through the night  
Shadow dancing, baby, you do it right  
Give me more, drag me across the floor  
Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more_


End file.
